Jim Ludwig, the Principal of JEL Solutions, joined FLSmidth in the fall of 2008.  We asked Jim to help us initiate a formal continuous improvement (CI) program in our US-based operations which included 3 major locations (plus others) and over 1500 people.  Supported by company colleagues from Denmark and India, Jim led the charge in bringing our Lean program to both our Cement and Minerals divisions.  He initially trained a majority of our senior leaders in CI concepts. Then he developed a customized approach (for our service-type business) to empower the leaders and their teams.  These teams were able to identify considerable potential savings and learned valuable skills that will be used for the years to come.

It became clear that Jim has a strong command of continuous improvement concepts.  His ability to apply them to various business situations, and most importantly, to help others learn and apply the concepts is good.  He showed an unwavering commitment to CI concepts, even in the face of many challenges and change.  He was always striving to find a better way for FLSmidth, its people, and its customers.

We are grateful to Jim for his service to FLSmidth during his time with us and are confident he made a positive and lasting impact in many ways.  I have high respect for Jim and his capabilities and would gladly recommend him to any organization looking for guidance on its continuous improvement journey.

Jørgen Huno Rasmussen
Group CEO
FLSmidth & Co. A/S
Denmark

____________________________________________________________

When I came to this area 4 years ago, the Chip Fab was definitely the bottleneck.

Once Jim Ludwig was hired and assigned to my area to help with IE support, we eliminated Chip Fab as the bottleneck within a matter of months.

Jim Ludwig :

… stepped in and laid out the new chip fab for maximum throughput and yield.
… was on top of all details relating to the move and got us up and running in a couple of weeks during the point when we ramped to our highest output ever.
… was key to making this move happen on time, on budget and having a low cost, high throughput, high yield fab once we got there.

David G. Coult, Senior Manager
Indium Phosphide Chip Fab
Engineering Department